Thanks for the comparison gnarlsagan. I can certainly agree with and understand many of the points you cover. I enjoy both of these phones immensely.

I would certainly take my 2 recabled and eq'd mh1's over most so called TOTL iems and indeed the mids and treble are fantastic. That being said, if I could only keep one iem out of all that I have owned, borrowed and auditioned, it would be the K3K. It's simplicity of design, ease of use and fantastic tonality make it one of the few keepers in a sea of compromises. It really is brilliant.

But do you really think that they are comparable, that they play in the same league sound wise and that a comparison therefore is called for? I would definitely assume that would be the opinion of gnarlsagan as he did the comparison, but I'd really like to hear your personal opinion. After all, why would anyone buy the K3K when for 1.6% of the cost of the K3K and james444’s “front venting mod” we can get an equally well sounding or even better sounding IEM in the Sony MH1?

thanks for the review gnarl. mh1 sounds like a world beater for the price. gotta disagree with you tho about how the k3003 reproduces cymbals. i've not heard another earphone/headphone get the tonality of a cymbal as right as the k3003.

But do you really think that they are comparable, that they play in the same league sound wise and that a comparison therefore is called for? I would definitely assume that would be the opinion of gnarlsagan as he did the comparison, but I'd really like to hear your personal opinion. After all, why would anyone buy the K3K when for 1.6% of the cost of the K3K and james444’s “front venting mod” we can get an equally well sounding or even better sounding IEM in the Sony MH1?

For the most part the mh1 can offer a competitive alternative if eq'd. EQ is the key word here. The bass without eq is way overblown and boomy, and it does cloud the midrange if left unto its own. However, it only takes one eq point to fix the boomy bloat.

So without rewriting the comparison, I'll say while I prefer the k3k treble, the mh1 treble is also fantastic, has great tonality and is on the same playing field. I think the k3k mids are a step up and there is a chasm between their bass. I also think the staging, texture and imaging of the k3k is superior.

It's worth noting that the original price of the mh1 is between $80 and $100 if I'm not mistaken. All sales of them now are in oem packaging and can be had as low as $20. But you need to recable them, as the cable is the worst in the history of bad iem cables. So expect another $100 for that. Then you need to EQ. So taking all that in. it's not as simple as saying a $20 iem competes with the big boys but using reductionist thinking you certainly can.

At the end of the day, what matters most to me is the holistic tonality of the iem and here is where the eq'd mh1 truly shines and does compete with the best I've heard.Edited by shotgunshane - 3/14/14 at 5:05am

But do you really think that they are comparable, that they play in the same league sound wise and that a comparison therefore is called for? I would definitely assume that would be the opinion of gnarlsagan as he did the comparison, but I'd really like to hear your personal opinion. After all, why would anyone buy the K3K when for 1.6% of the cost of the K3K and james444’s “front venting mod” we can get an equally well sounding or even better sounding IEM in the Sony MH1?

Just a warning, be careful to not jump to conclusions. This mod doesn't work the same way for all IEMs, as stock tuning and venting vary a lot and have an influence on the outcome. For instance, it works great on the JVC FX850 and KEF M200, but not so much on the Sony SBH-80, which use an updated version of the MH1 earpiece. That's why I told you that I have no idea how it will sound on your ToGo 334.

As for the MH1, I've only heard the MW1 (which use the same earpiece) and the SBH-80 (which use the updated version) and both need EQ imo. They do sound great when EQed, but tbh, so do my 5 year old IE8 with proper EQ (a phone that got a lot of bashing for its bass hump).

Also, while I don't want to criticize gnarlsagan's comparison, from my pov it focuses primarily on frequency response, which isn't everything that makes or breaks an earphone. To give an example, the K3003 are the best sounding IEMs for low volume listening I've heard to date, while to my ears neither the MW1 nor the SBH-80 are something special in that regard. Everyone has different priorities and I'm perfectly ok with gnarlsagan's take on things, just saying that if your priorities happen to differ from his, you may arrive at entirely different conclusions.

Thank you for the comprehensive and well reasoned take on the K3K as well as the MH1 Gnarl. It's caused a little bit of a stir over at the "hype" thread lol. I totally agree that the MH1 is a truly excellent phone: smooth, free of bothersome errant frequencies, endowed with great detail, pleasing tone and a surprisingly large scope of sound. I think it represents a junction point where diminishing returns becomes highly apparent, as you're definitely netting a large percentage of what comprises performance at the high end. I don't feel that it's top shelf in any one area (Or rather packing bells and whistles), but holistically speaking, I think it's one of the few phones that's free of any egregious missteps, and a quite refined listen. With the cable mod and some simple EQ, it's really a top contender IMO

BTW, I've very recently come into the SE846 and it's one phone that's really impressed me as of late. I'd love to hear your take on it in the future

The thing that I keep coming back to, and that I realllllllllly want to know before pulling the trigger is which of these is going to make the cello sound its best. I'm torn between the se846 and the k3k3.

The thing that I keep coming back to, and that I realllllllllly want to know before pulling the trigger is which of these is going to make the cello sound its best. I'm torn between the se846 and the k3k3.

I've only had the SE846 for a day, but Dieblanc has written up a really excellent comparison between the two phones:

The real problem im having is, that at this price, I can really only go with an all-rounder. Most of my collection is Rock, Classical(or contemprary styles with strings(e.g. Break of Reality)), and EDM(DnB, House etc.). I don't need extra bass, but for reference my desktop cans are HE-500s and I am in love with them.

The real problem im having is, that at this price, I can really only go with an all-rounder. Most of my collection is Rock, Classical(or contemprary styles with strings(e.g. Break of Reality)), and EDM(DnB, House etc.). I don't need extra bass, but for reference my desktop cans are HE-500s and I am in love with them.

If strings are high on your priority list, you might regret going for anything more expensive than the FX850. With a simple mod, they also turn into great all-rounders.

I think the K3K fares well with rock and classical but I'd honestly give the edge to the SE846 for EDM. If you're into really fast, deep, and textured bass, the SE846 is just downright awe inspiring with EDM. I was listening to the Tron Reconfigured OST this morning with the SE846 and the way that the SE846 was able to render the sub bass textures without congealing into the mid bass was possibly the best I've heard. It's in no way slow, or bloated at all, and is able to capture subtle fluctuations in the way bass tones oscillate in an effortless manner

I've enjoyed the SE846 for rock as well, and have run through some At the Drive In, Zeppelin, and Joy Formidable with them. I was very impressed by how they were able to dredge up the drumming and guitar fills on "The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie" beneath layers of flat, hazy distortion, rendering intelligibility to what was formerly an amorphous wall of sound. Ditto with AtDI's Relationship of Command which is a very aggressively mastered album, that is downright piercing at times. The SE846 tempers that aggression without compromising the verve and energy.

That isn't to say that what you're left with is some glassy smooth, veiled sound either, as the 846 positively excels at extricating details from the mix and affording them their own space. It's a more dimensional approach as apposed to how the K3K tends to splay things out laterally. Listening to Yeezy's "Dark Fantasy", I was most impressed by how the 846 was able to effortlessly project multiple layers of vocals with exacting precision. Given that the perceived size of vocals/instruments are quite large (similar to the FitEar 334/ASG-2), you can easily gauge the depth and distance between them; it's a feat I've only ever heard convincingly portrayed on the 334 before.

Edit: I'd heed James' FX850 advice, it sounds like an enormous performer for the money, and with hype reaching critical mass, should be relatively easy to resell to suckers such as myselfEdited by Idsynchrono_24 - 3/14/14 at 12:34pm

So would you tell me to avoid the SE846 then? I had all but made up my mind between the two. TBH, I had originally been eyeing the SE 846, but the k3k3 is tempting me greatly for its casual, and attractive appearance.

So would you tell me to avoid the SE846 then? I had all but made up my mind between the two. TBH, I had originally been eyeing the SE 846, but the k3k3 is tempting me greatly for its casual, and attractive appearance.